THE FICTION
JVL Posting on FB of 2nd May at 12:22
Jewish Voice for Labour has become aware of an initiative called Labour Against Zionist Islamophobic Racism (LAZIR) which has made reference to the role of JVL. [more about Lazir, which launches outside London Labour HQ at 12 noon on Sun 5th May at www.tinyurl.com/laziwork ]
We wish to make clear that we were not consulted on the use of our name and are not associated with this venture
THE TRUTH
EMAIL TO JEWISH VOICE FOR LABOUR, sent 3rd May 2019
Hi Leah, Mike and all,
This is a crucial time for starting the fightback against the influence of Israel and Zionists in our Labour Party and trade unions. We shall be facing a general election (I predict later this year, if Brexit negotiations founder) and I want it to be in a party without the JLM and the IHRA.
As you know, I favour JVL as being the voice for Jews in Labour. To my mind, most of those in JLM are neither Jewish nor in the Labour Party. As a group that promotes the racist doctrine of Zionism, they have no place in Labour. Maybe their involvement made sense in 1903, before Jews had a safe haven, but it is no longer justified, especially since Israel became an officially apartheid country last July.
Yesterday Steve Price of Labour Against the Witch-hunt informed me that JVL were “deeply opposed” to LAZIR and would soon be making a statement to this effect. If this is true, I will have to say the following:
I took the outline aims and policies that a group of us in Edinburgh had been working on to you for comment first on the 31st March. The following day I took it to Mike (again) and to Labour Against the Witch-hunt (LAW). When I received no response from you, I emailed you again on the 4th April. Since Then I have emailed you several more times. On each occasion I made clear that these were draft aims and policies and that everything was changeable.
I had also started out hoping that LAZIR might function as a sub-committee of LAW and that is a hope I hold yet. However, my approach was immediately rebuffed by Tina because Tony had declared me suspect. I eventually called upon Stan and he told me I could present it to the LAW meeting this Saturday. At that meeting I shall repeat my request that LAZIR function as a sub-committee of LAW, but I suspect that yet again I shall be rebuffed. The steering group want me expelled, after all. In addition, Socialist Fight, who gave me some excellent advice in revising the aims and policies, were expelled from LAW in early January. There is certainly an appetite at LAW to purge. The present LAZIR aims and policies are at www.tinyurl.com/laziwork
I want to say to you that I am a JVL member and I am very disappointed that you have chosen to ignore my approaches. I suspect that this is largely at the behest of Graham Bash, who, along with Tony, thinks I am dangerous to know. But if you choose to go further down the road of publicly shunning me by declaring LAZIR to be a bad thing, I can’t see how it will help JVL.
LAZIR is not just me – there are about a dozen folk who have helped shape the policies, including Rabbi Ahron Cohen of the Neturei Karta. Many more have expressed their support. I have also been working with other Rabbis and with the Friends of Al Aqsa. Both groups I hope will be sympathetic to LAZIR and thus far the two bodies sound keen to be involved at LAZIR events.
I assume that JVL, who do not favour orthodox religion, will sneer at both these groups – both adhere to Judaism or Islam with a passion, but for me, their support is critical and I will point to their involvement to indicate how I have reached out to as many as possible in seeking to build a body that meets the widest approval. That neither JVL nor LAW have chosen to get involved rather weakens your issuing a damning statement in the next few days, in my view.
You may be interested to know that Gordon Dimmack released this interview on the 1st May, in which I describe JVL as “the good guys” (see it at https://youtu.be/ceCOhdgRBoc) as opposed to JLM, who I see as a poisonous cancer in Labour.
Even if you do what Graham Bash wants, and damn LAZIR as soon as it is born, I will continue to pledge to work for your benefit. I believe JVL to be an excellent body. I love reading your updates. You stand for all that is good in Jewry, as opposed to the Zionist nationalistic witch-hunting rhetoric of JVL, who as I said before, bears little relation or sympathy to what the Labour party was founded on: social justice.
If any from JVL are interested in coming along on Sunday to Labour HQ at 12 noon and helping me display the attached banner (which I have been up all night making) they would be most welcome. If anybody wants to talk, they can contact me by phone on 0758 472 2191
Best wishes
Pete Gregson
Edinburgh
